Elizabeth’s mind drifted back to that conference, and she remembered being impressed with the woman’s poise and confidence. She remembered her lovely dark hair pinned up showing her elegant neck. She was young for a lecturer but confident. Doctor Jackson had clearly known her work. Even there at the conference, Elizabeth had hoped to reach out to her and connect, professionally of course, well mostly.
But she had held back because she was in a long term relationship with Alison and she knew her motives toward the young beautiful impressive Dr. Jackson weren’t exactly pure.
Her relationship with Alison had grown stale over many years and when Alison had finally informed her that she was moving to Stockholm, Elizabeth wasn’t all that surprised. They had amicably decided to end the relationship. They had both changed. So much. They had been through a lot together, of course, but their relationship had begun to feel like friendship or roommates rather than anything more.
Elizabeth shook her head as old feelings bubbled to the surface, even though it had been amicable it still hurt. There was still the loss of Alison. Elizabeth rationalized that it had been for the best for both of them. She knew that. Her career did not leave much room for personal relationships, and theirs had already been strained for some time.
Checking her phone for any updates, Elizabeth walked quickly toward the terminal rolling her carry-on suitcase behind her. As one of the leading researchers on infectious diseases, she traveled a lot, and had it mostly down to an art. She knew exactly how and when to travel light, she didn’t see any reason why this trip would take more than a couple of days. Cases like this were almost always a simple situation of mistaken identity. A fairly common disease presenting in uncommon ways. It just needed her expert eye on the patients to see what was really going on.
Still, she felt almost nervous.
It didn’t take long for her to clear security and get to the private aircraft that had been reserved for her. The craft was small but comfortable. The flight attendant stored her bag for her and offered her a drink. She requested a ginger ale and settled into her seat. She checked her phone one last time before turning it off and storing it in her personal bag along with her laptop.
Within minutes, the plane was in the air. Once she was given the go-ahead, she pulled out her laptop and connected it to the in-flight Wi-Fi. She checked the reports again, nothing new had been added, but the symptoms were escalating faster and they had already lost one patient. Elizabeth couldn’t understand why they hadn’t immediately started the rabies treatment—she was almost certain that was what this was. Several animals could have bitten them without their knowledge, certain bats for instance.
She pulled up Dr. Jackson’s medical profile on the hospital’s website. Ava Jackson’s beautiful face smiled at her from the corner, her dark caramel-colored skin almost glowed in the portrait. Her features were soft, almostwarm, and Elizabeth couldn’t help but wonder why a doctor as capable as she remembered Dr. Jackson to be would choose to work in a city like Phoenix Ridge, when she could most likely take her pick of any hospital in the United States, or even abroad.
Elizabeth shook her head; she’d been working on this. Her tendency to judge. Not everyone had the same ambition as she, and Elizabeth tried not to pass judgement, sometimes it was hard, though. It felt like so much wasted potential. Elizabeth closed her laptop and stored it away. She needed to rest as it would likely be a long time before she would see a bed of her own. She settled back and closed her eyes, and surprisingly, the next thing she knew was the flight attendant waking her. They would be landing soon. She could already feel the plane descending toward Phoenix Ridge airport. She checked her watch, it was almost midnight, which meant it was closer to two in the morning back in New York. The time difference was going to be a struggle, but she needed to get to the hospital before anything else. Despite the nap, she could still feel the tiredness settling in.
As the plane came to a stop on the runway at Phoenix Ridge Airport, she straightened her gray suit and gathered her bag and carry-on suitcase as the plane’s engines grew quiet.
She stepped off the plane, the air was much warmer and drier than she was used to in New York, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, especially at this time of night. She looked around, a dark sedan was parked nearby with an older woman standing on the side. Elizabeth nodded at the woman, identifying her as Doctor Josephine Mars, the chief of medicine at Phoenix Ridge Hospital. A cool breeze rippled at her clothes as she crossed the tarmac and greeted the woman. She knew Dr. Mars had previously worked in New York, but they had never crossed paths.
“Doctor Mars, I presume,” Elizabeth said and put out her hand. Doctor Mars shook it firmly.
“That’s correct, Doctor Grant, we are glad to have your assistance,” Doctor Mars answered.
“Is there anything new to report?” Elizabeth asked.
“Not since our last, the patients are still getting progressively worse, though the antiviral seems to be slowing the progression,” Doctor Mars said.
“And we’re sure it’s not rabies?” Elizabeth asked, for probably the tenth time since they started communications.
“It’s not rabies, at least as far as we can recognize it,” Doctor Mars answered. “Though it looks similar in structure. It is very resistant to our treatments.” Doctor Mars looked at her phone as it pinged and her lips tightened. “It seems all of our other patients have tested positive for it also, and two of the three are starting to show symptoms.” She gestured to the sedan.
Elizabeth quickly stowed her carry-on in the trunk of the car and walked around to open the door. The seat was spacious and comfortable, though nothing that she would compare to the relative luxury of some places. As the driver pulled away from the airport, Dr. Mars shared some of the images from the scans and bloodwork on the patients they had seen so far.
“Have you tested your staff to see if there are any new infections?” Elizabeth asked.
“We haven’t yet, no,” Doctor Mars answered with a tight jaw. “We have been following the quarantine protocol, and we have notified the CDC of a possible outbreak, but we are trying to keep things calm so far.”
“What about the first responders?” Elizabeth remarked.
“We called them back in a few minutes ago, they are on their way to the hospital now.”
“Good,” Elizabeth said. “The sooner we figure this out and contain it, the better.”
“Agreed,” Doctor Mars said.
The ride was short, and Elizabeth was impressed with the hospital on first impressions. The staff seemed to be working well together, even though the air was filled with tension. They were professional and quick. Doctor Mars took Elizabeth through the rooms introducing her to the various staff members. Elizabeth took particular note of Kellie, the head nurse. The woman’s eyes were tight and worry lines etched on her face, but she managed her staff with grace and efficiency.
“Doctor Mars?” a voice called from behind where they were observing Sandra’s room. Elizabeth’s attention perked at the voice,the woman had a musical quality to her, though it was strong and sincere.
“Yes, Doctor Jackson?” Doctor Mars turned around and Elizabeth’s curiosity was piqued. She lifted her head and followed Dr. Mars’ gaze. Perhaps it was exhaustion, but the sight of Dr. Ava Jackson took her breath away. She was every bit as beautiful as Elizabeth remembered her. Her dark curly hair was loose around her shoulders, and her dark eyes were captivating. She stood taller than most, and her skin seemed to glow, despite the tension that lined her face.
She still had that natural elegance and grace to her. That easy femininity that Elizabeth found all too attractive.
“It’s Yasmine, the first responder,” Doctor Jackson said and pressed her lips.
